Aid Effectiveness and Policy Coherence for Development: Donor Policies and Practices in Comparative Perspective

This research project explores the extent to which donor countries’ aid and non-aid policies work together in the interests of development, as well as the extent to which donors work with each other and recipient governments. It also seeks to: 1) explain policy coherence and incoherence at the national and international levels; 2) analyze their intended and unintended consequences; and 3) determine to what extent the impediments to more effective assistance can be overcome. The original empirical research focuses primarily on aid from a range of donors to three African countries, namely Ethiopia, Ghana and Mali. A better understanding of why foreign aid has not yielded better development results is key to resolving one of the largest global challenges of the 21st century: fighting enduring poverty and inequality. By examining domestic and international policy coherence and incoherence from an interdisciplinary perspective, this project will generate new theoretical and empirical knowledge on the impediments and possibilities of improved development cooperation in Africa and other developing regions.